Democrats push for overhaul of Illinois education funding

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Democrats are attempting to overhaul the way public schools are funded with a plan that would gradually shift money from wealthy districts to poorer areas.

Legislation introduced Wednesday by Democratic Sen. Andy Manar would change district's reliance on property taxes to fund their schools. Currently, funding is comprised of a variety of state grants, many of which don't account for resources some districts already have.

Manar's bill would make it so that local wealth is taken more into account when distributing funds.

The bill would require an initial $400 million investment on top of the $10 billion education budget to make sure that wealthier school districts don't lose money the first year. After that, the funding shift toward needier school districts would be phased in over four years.